Single pulse avalanche robustness and repetitive stress ageing of SiC power MOSFETs

A Comprehensive Study on the Avalanche Breakdown Robustness of Silicon Carbide Power MOSFETs

This paper presents an in-depth investigation into the avalanche breakdown robustness of commercial state-of-the-art silicon carbide (SiC) power MOSFETs comprising of functional as well as structural characterization and the corresponding underlying physical mechanisms responsible for device failure. One aspect of robustness for power MOSFETs is determined by its ability to withstand energy dur...

Silicon Carbide “super” Junction Transistors Operating at 500 °c

1200 V/ 3 mm active-area SiC “Super” Junction Transistors (SJTs) display current gains as high as 88 and majority carrier operation up to 250 °C. The SJT operation shifts from purely unipolar to bipolar-mode at temperatures ≥ 300 °C. The leakage currents at a blocking voltage of 1200 V remain below 100 μA, even at 325 °C. Temperature-independent turn-on and turn-off times < 15 ns are measured u...

High temperature pulsed-gate robustness testing of SiC power MOSFETs

Threshold voltage instabilities of present SiC-power MOSFETs under positive bias temperature stress

We study the threshold voltage (Vth) instability of commercially available silicon carbide (SiC) power MOSFETs or prototypes from four different manufacturers under positive bias temperature stress (PBTS). A positive bias near Vth causes a threshold voltage shift of 0.7 mV per decade in time per nanometer oxide thickness in the temperature range between -50°C and 150°C. Recovery at +5 V after a...

Single Event Effects Induced by Heavy Ion Irradiation in SiC Power MOSFETs

Silicon Carbide power devices are becoming very popular devices in switching power converters due to their superior performances in terms of on state and switching energy losses with respect to the Silicon counterparts [1]. Some works have been dedicated to study Single Event Effects (SEEs) induced by irradiations in SiC power diodes [2-5] and MESFETs [6]. Total IonizationDose Effects, TID, hav...